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Topic : Breaking Unhealthy Habits

Always have a gallon of ice cream in the freezer? Are chips and soda a staple of your day? Let's break unhealthy eating habits and lose weight together.

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My First Message Posting

I have just now registered onto Dr. Phil's web site and about to start my weight loss journey. I was interested to read on this board that Weight Watchers success soon turned to failure.........I can vouch for that, and yet I am about to start it again, but this time with Dr. Phil's book in my right hand to help me along. My profile tells you of my health concerns.........I would love to chat with anyone, but it would be nice to get a buddy from New Zealand too.

No Response

I have just now registered onto Dr. Phil's web site and about to start my weight loss journey. I was interested to read on this board that Weight Watchers success soon turned to failure.........I can vouch for that, and yet I am about to start it again, but this time with Dr. Phil's book in my right hand to help me along. My profile tells you of my health concerns.........I would love to chat with anyone, but it would be nice to get a buddy from New Zealand too.

I have not had any response to my first posting........sort of very disappointed as it makes me wonder if anyone out there really does care about a person embarking on her weight loss journey and needing support..........

You are not alone

I have not had any response to my first posting........sort of very disappointed as it makes me wonder if anyone out there really does care about a person embarking on her weight loss journey and needing support..........

Don't give up. Sometimes people aren't very active on the boards. I have been working on my weight since Nov. 2006 so almost 1 year. I'm a huge Dr Phil fan I have read his book once years ago I maybe should get it from the library and read it again. So how are you doing today? MB

Are sweetners and diet drinks bad for you

Recently I read that the sweetners that we use and the diet drinks that we drink have a product called Aspartame and it is very bad for you. Is this true and so what should a person do because I use Canderels when I drink coffee and I have switched to tab rather than drinking normal drinks. Are there any sweetners that I can use which do not contain this product if it is bad for my health and also what are alternate options for sweetners and diet drinks.

Breaking Unhealthy Habits

Recently I read that the sweetners that we use and the diet drinks that we drink have a product called Aspartame and it is very bad for you. Is this true and so what should a person do because I use Canderels when I drink coffee and I have switched to tab rather than drinking normal drinks. Are there any sweetners that I can use which do not contain this product if it is bad for my health and also what are alternate options for sweetners and diet drinks.

My doctor said small amounts of Splenda are OK and to try using honey for a sweetener in coffee. I guess the body still thinks it's sugar and reacts with the insulin. So the more you can weed out the sugar in all it's forms the better. It's not easy .....I know. The aspartame is linked with cancer. Try drinking more water, the more you get use to not having the sweeteners the sweeter they become. Make any sense? I like to add lemon juice to my water and a little splenda I can drink a lot of it. I try to drink 52oz of water a day. Don't get me wrong I still have my coffee....love that bean! MB

Thankyou

Quote From: mbsassy

Don't give up. Sometimes people aren't very active on the boards. I have been working on my weight since Nov. 2006 so almost 1 year. I'm a huge Dr Phil fan I have read his book once years ago I maybe should get it from the library and read it again. So how are you doing today? MB

Thankyou so much for responding to my posting........I am now only on day 3 of my weight loss programme and so far so good.........I am reading Dr. Phil's book again for the 2nd time - I bought it a few years ago. He makes such a lot of sense and I enjoy watching him on TV when I get the chance. How much weight have you lost over the year you have been doing it? I do not know how quickly I will shed the 40kgs.....but for my health's sake I feel I really must persevere until it is all off.

Breaking Unhealthy Habits

Quote From: linmaree

Thankyou so much for responding to my posting........I am now only on day 3 of my weight loss programme and so far so good.........I am reading Dr. Phil's book again for the 2nd time - I bought it a few years ago. He makes such a lot of sense and I enjoy watching him on TV when I get the chance. How much weight have you lost over the year you have been doing it? I do not know how quickly I will shed the 40kgs.....but for my health's sake I feel I really must persevere until it is all off.

Linda.

Your welcome. Dr. Phil is great I watch every day. When I first decided to start losing some weight I was at my biggest and it was due to inactivity, so I was out of shape bad. Trying to clean house got me out of breath! I'm 5' 3" Tall and weighted 181lbs last Nov 06. Now I weight 148 lbs, so that's 33lbs. The first 6 months I yo-yoed back and forth with my weight because I was not exercising and tried to hang on to old eating habits. I'm 38 yrs old so my body adapts slower to change than in my 20's. My goal wasn't to lose it quickly really. And once I started to exercise my goals changed. Like it became more important for my heart to get healthy and strong that my body. It has been a gradually process for me. But hey that's not to say yours will be the same you may lose weight much more quickly than I did. Stay strong I like how you put it "persevere" that's the right attitude! MB

ritehere thanks so much!!

I know that was days ago, but I've been gone.Consider how long it took to gain the weight? Since you have lost weight before you know that it not only takes behavioral changes, but mental ones as well. 5 days is not very long.I'm guessing something happened that sent you back to old habits and there you go! You now reflect the consequences of your everyday behavior. I'm right there with you, my size and shape is the consequences of the way I've been eating and drinking lately. How can I expect to look any different? I'm not a failure, I'm exactly what I've been working towards, the results of my eating and sedentary ways.I'm going to relate some things that help me: 1. reframing comments or actions from your spouse and events around you.2. putting yourself first when it comes to your goals3. pinpointing what it was that sent you back to your old shape and size

When your husband says something like "do you really need that?" I'm guessing you feel judgment, then resentment for that judgment, and then you tell yourself something like "I can do whatever I want, I'm not a child!" or something to that affect.

I challenge you to look at the comment differently. Where is the truth that your husband is judging you? He knows how you struggled to lose the weight once before, he knows you are disappointed with yourself for gaining it back. He listens to your concerns about your weight and walks a tightrope of not knowing the correct thing to say to make you feel encouraged. So, maybe he didn't mean it as judgment, maybe he's not out to rub your face in your backsliding. Maybe this is his way of being "in your corner" only you don't recognize it because it's not your perception of that.What you need to do is "reframe" the comment in your mind, so that you no longer perceive it as judgment but a loving "nudge" to get you to think about what you are about to do. (Which is to eat something that you will regret and beat yourself up for later.) He's trying to keep you from bad feelings about yourself.By putting yourself first in regards to your goals, I mean stop trying to enlist your husband to exercise with you and then making him the excuse why you don't exercise--as in "I don't do it because I don't want to exercise alone!" If he doesn't want to, you will only make him frustrated with you. Find somebody else who is ready, willing, and able to get out there with you. Being an example is always a better way to inspire others to join. In the end, it's your body and your goal, you can get encouragement and advice from others, but you know that its YOUR actions that create the results. Same goes with your faulty thinking when it comes to "no time for yourself." Make the time. If you won't, who will? Once you commit to the concept that you CAN make time, you will stop focusing on "poor me" thoughts and find solutions to finding the time.

Pinpointing what put you in a tailspin is protection against having it occur again. So evidently you did everything right but there was something you neglected to learn. Maybe it was the fact that you had not truly accepted the fact that to stay slim is a lifelong habit. There is no going back to old habits once you have reached your goal because your old habits are what made you overweight to begin with. This is a lesson that many many people fail to accept, as statistics show. Don't be one of the ones that "doesn't get it." Or maybe you are an emotional eater and something happened that you were not ready to cope with, so reverted to old eating habits.Whatever the reason, you have to find it and forgive yourself for it, and prepare yourself to deal with it, (because it WILL pop up again!) so you can resume progress.Hope this helps.

Much needed input! I greatly thank you for it. I am still on my diet, but 1200 calories was too much to cut back to. so, i increased my calories to 1500 per day, and have done better. It doesn;t seem to leave me as hungry.You are right I guess he was trying to help me, I just couldn't see it. He has been quite a trooper in trying healthy foods that I prepare for me. I am the only one responsible for me....I get that. No more excuses! Just do it! harder some days than others, but it can be done. Thank you sooooooo much.

You're welcome

Much needed input! I greatly thank you for it. I am still on my diet, but 1200 calories was too much to cut back to. so, i increased my calories to 1500 per day, and have done better. It doesn;t seem to leave me as hungry.You are right I guess he was trying to help me, I just couldn't see it. He has been quite a trooper in trying healthy foods that I prepare for me. I am the only one responsible for me....I get that. No more excuses! Just do it! harder some days than others, but it can be done. Thank you sooooooo much.

I'm right there with you. I've lost about 10lbs now.It takes work and most of it, for me anyway, involves mental work. I guess you could say I've come full circle because my goal of losing weight was what started me on my road of learning how to change my thinking and approach to life. Discovering that your size and shape are only the reflection of what's going on inside is liberating.I actually feel grateful that I was once obese (I'm overweight now, but not like I was!) I may not have been motivated to learn all the things I have in the past few years.

Putting yourself first and pinpointing issues that cause set back

I know that was days ago, but I've been gone.Consider how long it took to gain the weight? Since you have lost weight before you know that it not only takes behavioral changes, but mental ones as well. 5 days is not very long.I'm guessing something happened that sent you back to old habits and there you go! You now reflect the consequences of your everyday behavior. I'm right there with you, my size and shape is the consequences of the way I've been eating and drinking lately. How can I expect to look any different? I'm not a failure, I'm exactly what I've been working towards, the results of my eating and sedentary ways.I'm going to relate some things that help me: 1. reframing comments or actions from your spouse and events around you.2. putting yourself first when it comes to your goals3. pinpointing what it was that sent you back to your old shape and size

When your husband says something like "do you really need that?" I'm guessing you feel judgment, then resentment for that judgment, and then you tell yourself something like "I can do whatever I want, I'm not a child!" or something to that affect.

I challenge you to look at the comment differently. Where is the truth that your husband is judging you? He knows how you struggled to lose the weight once before, he knows you are disappointed with yourself for gaining it back. He listens to your concerns about your weight and walks a tightrope of not knowing the correct thing to say to make you feel encouraged. So, maybe he didn't mean it as judgment, maybe he's not out to rub your face in your backsliding. Maybe this is his way of being "in your corner" only you don't recognize it because it's not your perception of that.What you need to do is "reframe" the comment in your mind, so that you no longer perceive it as judgment but a loving "nudge" to get you to think about what you are about to do. (Which is to eat something that you will regret and beat yourself up for later.) He's trying to keep you from bad feelings about yourself.By putting yourself first in regards to your goals, I mean stop trying to enlist your husband to exercise with you and then making him the excuse why you don't exercise--as in "I don't do it because I don't want to exercise alone!" If he doesn't want to, you will only make him frustrated with you. Find somebody else who is ready, willing, and able to get out there with you. Being an example is always a better way to inspire others to join. In the end, it's your body and your goal, you can get encouragement and advice from others, but you know that its YOUR actions that create the results. Same goes with your faulty thinking when it comes to "no time for yourself." Make the time. If you won't, who will? Once you commit to the concept that you CAN make time, you will stop focusing on "poor me" thoughts and find solutions to finding the time.

Pinpointing what put you in a tailspin is protection against having it occur again. So evidently you did everything right but there was something you neglected to learn. Maybe it was the fact that you had not truly accepted the fact that to stay slim is a lifelong habit. There is no going back to old habits once you have reached your goal because your old habits are what made you overweight to begin with. This is a lesson that many many people fail to accept, as statistics show. Don't be one of the ones that "doesn't get it." Or maybe you are an emotional eater and something happened that you were not ready to cope with, so reverted to old eating habits.Whatever the reason, you have to find it and forgive yourself for it, and prepare yourself to deal with it, (because it WILL pop up again!) so you can resume progress.Hope this helps.

2. putting yourself first when it comes to your goals3. pinpointing what it was that sent you back to your old shape and size

It has been quite a while since I recognized these issues for me: I want to thank you for pinpointing them in your statement because it reminds me that others are not responsible for my misbehavior in caring for myself. I don't know about you, but I can be my own best friend in private (a big accomplishment); however, in public I dare not state that there is nothing on the menu ....nor do I bring something along. I guess I am still denying that I have to take care of myself.. Weight watchers gave me two montras that work in restaurants: A) poor water on the bread on your plate B) bring me tomato juice and lemon instead of butter for my lobster.

My biggest problem now is when we have family events; my hostesses too often do not put out foods that work for me. Portion control just doesn't apply when you are hungry... (btw- I do eat before attending family events and I recently started to bring mushroom stuffed eggwhites.) It is not enough to help me meet my personal goals. The "oh try it; it won't hurt you" or "diet when you are home" sabotages me. I don't like fulling the needs of others when it underminds me, but somehow I fall into the trap.